Change of date for the Colorado OTSM Classic
The date of the Colorado OTSM Classic has been changed to September 13, and the deadline for entry is now September 6. More details here: https://www.usawa.com/colorado-otsm-classic-lakewood-co/
USAWA Nationals update #2
by Clint Poore
A glorious day of strength to you!
This is update #2 for the 2025 USAWA Nationals.
To follow up on the previous update regarding Dale Hollow State Park going through immediate emergency reconstruction at the park, I have polled many of the lifters coming to nationals about where to have the National Meeting.
The two choices I proposed were the SKD Distillery, after the tour or Angie’s Family Restaurant, a locally owned family restaurant that serves southern style country cooking. Before proposing this option to the lifters, Lynne and I went and had dinner at Angie’s Family Restuarant. It met the criteria we need and then I invited the lifters attending nationals to share which option they liked best. In an overwhelming response, the lifters chose Angie’s Family Restaurant by an 80 to 20 percent margin. I think this was conclusive and I will be setting up the 2025 USAWA National Meeting in the side room at Angie’s Family Restaurant for Friday, July 18.
Here is the planned itinerary for Friday, July 18:
– 2:00 – 4:30 pm we have a tour scheduled for Southern Kentucky Distillery
– 5:30 – 8:30 pm we will have the 2025 National Meeting at Angie’s Family Restaurant.
Here are the Facebook links to each location.
Angie’s Family Restaurant
Southern Kentucky Distillery
To close, I am excited for 2025 Nationals and look forward to seeing each of you.
I have included the current roster for the 2025 USAWA Nationals… It’s going to be EPIC!
Updated 25 confirmed lifters – from 9 different states and 2 countries!
Chris Frappier Ontario, Canada
Kyle Frappier Ontario, Canada
Jerry Wilson Kentucky
Jeff Bankens Louisiana
Isaac Bankens Louisiana
Clint Poore Kentucky
Ashley Stearns Kentucky
Abe Smith Missouri
Randy Richey Kentucky
Jarrod Gaddis Kentucky
Beth Skwarecki Pennsylvania
Sanjiv Gupta Colorado
Allison Lupo Missouri
Tony Lupo Missouri
Randy Smith Michigan
Helen Kahn Michigan
David DeForest Missouri
Chad Ullom Kansas
Toby Ortega Illinois
Frank Ciavattone Massachusetts
Dan Jones Massachusetts
Jessica Hopps Massachusetts
Wade Marchand Massachusetts
Nils Larson Massachusetts
Dennis Habecker Pennsylvania
Many more to be added
2025 USAWA Club Championship – Results
Clark’s Championship Gym
High Country Vigour
2025 marks the return of the Club Championship which had not been contested since 2019. This is a great format where clubs total their top three lifters to form an adjusted total and bragging rights as the strongest club of the year.
From 2010-2012 it had been hosted at Ambridge Barbell Club. From 2013-2019 it had been contested at Ledaig Heavy Athletics. Beyond the host clubs only four other clubs had competed in the Club Championship (Atomic Athletics, Dino Gym, Habecker’s Gym and Joe’s Gym).
In 2025, we tried something different allowing lifter to lift live at High Country Vigour or submit results remotely. There was only one taker with Clark’s Championship Gym submitting an entry.
Also new since the last time the event was hosted, was the 1.33 gender modifier. Women had competed in the past but were at a disadvantage when contributing to the team total.
Clark’s Championship Gym brought a full squad of (11) athletes lifting in Missouri and Michigan, including powerhouse, Randy Smith. The team included (3) Junior athletes, (2) Open athletes and (7) masters athletes. Clark’s Gym also had the oldest and youngest athletes at 70 years old and 10 years old respectively. Notably absent was Abe Smith, defending National Overall Best Lifter and Athlete of the Year, who was recovering from some injuries. Surprisingly present was Tony Lupo competing with a bad shoulder and torn pec and Randy Smith competing with a recent hamstring injury.
High Country Vigour had (4) athletes lifting in Colorado, (3) seasoned masters athletes and (1) newcomer who is calmly starting to set records in the 16–17-year-old age group after a birthday in February.
In Colorado, we had some exciting lifting and fourth attempts for records. Nisha had an impressive 50-pound Zercher after some really sketchy warm-ups. Jarrod had a massive 102-pound fourth attempt Turkish Get Up which is an all-age class record at 100kg (he also owns the 85kg and 95kg all age class records). Kim had a scary moment with a missed Turkish Get Up that came down on her non-lifting wrist. She showed tremendous courage finishing the meet with not only a solid 143-pound competition deadlift, but also a fourth attempt 153 pounds to extend her all age class 60kg record.
We also had some amusing struggles with the Turkish Get Up. Nisha’s technique went from the ground to a squat stance without passing through a kneeling position. Sanjiv’s final attempt somehow had both knees on the ground before going into a kneeling position and driving up.
Top Individual Lifts
- Best Dumbbell Snatch – 95 pounds by Jeff Wenzel
- Best Zercher – 335 pounds by Jeff Wenzel
- Best Turkish Get Up – 92 pounds by Jarrod Fobes
- Best Deadlift, Fulton Bar, Ciavattone Grip – 268 pounds by Randy Smith
Final Standings:
1st – Clark’s Championship Gym
2nd – High Country Vigour
Clark’s Gym having won the Club Championship has earned the option to host the 2026 Club Championships.
Meet Results:
USAWA Club Championship
High Country Vigour
Lakewood, Colorado
April 5, 2025
Meet Director – Sanjiv Gupta
Officials – Jarrod Fobes, Sanjiv Gupta, Bill Clark, Tony Lupo, Dave DeForest, Jeff Wenzel
Scorekeeper – Sanjiv Gupta
Lifts: Snatch, Dumbbell, One Arm; Zercher; Turkish Get Up; Deadlift, Fulton Bar, Ciavattone Grip
Clark’s Championship Gym – 2223.9 Adjusted Points
Lifter-Age-BWT-Snatch-Zercher-TGU-DL-Total-Points
Randy Smith-70-197-68 (L)-305-35-268-676-827.7*
Travis Luther-32-169-90 (R)-90-320-85-225-720-709.9
Dave DeForest-65-176-66 (R)-275-25-200-566-686.3
Jeff Wenzel-50-241-95 (R)-335-60-265-755-677.0
Riley Wenzel-20-152-70 (R)-225-60-200-555-586.6
Lisa Gore (F)-59-212-30 (L)-155-25-185-395-544.9
Logan Wenzel-10-72-10 (R)-45-10-85-150-514.1
Tony Lupo-59-236-81 (L)-135-26-225-467-457.7
Janet Thompson (F)-67-163-20 (R)-85-7-150-262-457.3
Tim Market – 18-147.5-45 (R)-120-40-175-380-422.0
Allison Lupo (F)-58-193-20 (R)-95-5-125-245-353.4
Officials – Bill Clark, Tony Lupo, Dave DeForest, Jeff Wenzel
*Randy Smith – No official, ineligible for records
High Country Vigour – 1856.0 Adjusted Points
Lifter-Age-BWT-Snatch-Zercher-TGU-DL-Total-Points
Jarrod Fobes-47-216.4-87 (L)-250-92-253-682-629.5
Sanjiv Gupta-53-208.4-77 (R)-250-50-243-620-616.9
Kim Van Wagner (F)-57-125.6-32 (L)-101-44-143-320-609.6
Nisha Gupta (F)-16-87.4-22.5 (R)-40-15-93-170.5-440.8
Officials – Jarrod Fobes and Sanjiv Gupta
Extra Attempts for Records:
Nisha Gupta – Zercher – 50 pounds
Kim Van Wagner – Zercher – 106 pounds
Jarrod Fobes – Turkish Get Up – 102 pounds
Kim Van Wagner – Deadlift, Fulton Bar, Ciavattone Grip – 153 pounds
LIFTER OF THE MONTH, MARCH 2025 – RANDY SMITH
March was a busy month with meets being held in Massachusetts, Kentucky, Missouri and Colorado. Randy Smith earned lifter of the month for March by shining in the Colorado Single Arm Challenge and Jeff’s 50th Birthday Bash. He was first overall in the Single Arm Challenge with a massive 420 pound unadjusted total at 198 pound bodyweight and 70 years of age. During Jeff’s Birthday Bash, he completed four of five lifts with an impressive 130 pound Roman Chair Sit-up.
Randy has records dating back to the 2003 National Championship and has competed in 16 National Championships and was the best lifter in 2015. He is a member of the Century Club with 144 records. 31 of those are National Records, which puts him at 5th behind some pretty impressive company.
Most recently he has taken a role on the USAWA Advisory Committee which was tasked with better understanding the membership.
This is the 4th time Randy has earned Lifter of the Month with past recognition in July 2014, June 2015 and October 2021. Congratulations Randy!
2025 Nationals Update – Change of Venue and Hotel
by Clint Poore
A mighty day of strength to you!
This update for the 2025 USAWA Nationals brings about change. The 2025 nationals meet location and hotel have both changed due to unforeseen issues. To be clear, Dale Hollow Lake State Resort had a structural collapse of a partial lodge building & walkway and is undergoing immediate emergency construction, according to the State Park. We appreciate the swift notice by Dale Hollow State Park and hopefully we get the opportunity to plan another meet there in future.
THERE IS ALWAYS A BACKUP PLAN! The backup plan will be to host the 2025 USAWA Nationals at Buffville Colosseum, which is located at 2608 North Highway 127 Business in Albany, Ky. It is a 16,000 square ft. warehouse and has hosted the Old Time Strongman World Championships in 2023 and the HackenDinnie Classic II in 2024. Now it will host the premier event for the USAWA, the 2025 USAWA NATIONALS!
Our hotel venue has changed as well. The new meet hotel for the 2025 USAWA Nationals is the Baymont Inn in Albany, Kentucky. Here are a few points to know about booking a room.
HOTEL – BAYMONT INN phone #(606) 387-7238. You must call the Baymont Inn to receive the group rate. You will not receive the group rate if you book online through a third party.
Group code is USAWA
The Baymont Inn has a block of 20 rooms for the USAWA for 139 dollars per night plus tax, more rooms can be added if necessary.
You must call the Baymont Inn to make a reservation with the group code. This is peak season for Lake Cumberland and Dale Hollow Lake, meaning the rooms will only be held until June 8th. After June 8, the group code will no longer be available. Due to being the peak season for travelers, each reservation must be for a minimum of two nights, Friday & Saturday night. This is a destination location for travelers and you must book before the deadline of June 8th. If you wait to the last minute you may not get a room.
The National Meeting is currently scheduled for Friday, July 18 at 5 pm at Southern Kentucky Distillery (SKD). We are also having a Kentucky Bourbon Distillery visit at 2 pm which will be followed by the National Meeting. Kentucky is World Famous for its Bourbon and anyone who is interested can take the Bourbon Distillery tour for 15 dollars. It’s a very fun and insightful tour that everyone can enjoy.
With all these new updates/changes the 2025 USAWA Nationals and National Meeting are planned and ready to lead the USAWA into a glorious future! Until the next update………..
Here is the current roster of 24 confirmed lifters.
(Please make sure all entries are paid online at the Eventbrite link on the entry form)
Beth Skwarecki
Allison Lupo
Jessica Hopps
Chris Frappier
Kyle Frappier
Jerry Wilson
Jeff Bankens
Isaac Bankens
Clint Poore
Ashley Stearns
Abe Smith
Randy Richey
John Bunch
Jarrod Gaddis
Sanjiv Gupta
Tony Lupo
Randy Smith
David DeForest
Chad Ullom
Toby Ortega
Frank Ciavattone
Dan Jones
Wade Marchand
Nils Larson
Many more to be added
BE STRONG!
Clint Poore